Straight from the Land of the Rising Sun, the first marvellous full-length by Kiku Latte (ex-Cichla Temensis) on AMS Records!
Born in 2006 as Cichla Temensis as an instrumental prog-rock trio, they released two EPs in their early years, “Another Triangle” (2007) and “Affine Space” (2009), two works driven by bassist Takumi Kokubu’s energy and technique.
After the 2012 break-up, the same bass player brought this mysterious ensemble back to life as a quintet, with a completely renewed line-up that now includes a keyboardist and a guitarist. After a third EP, “Fantasia”, released in 2019, the band changed their name to Kiku Latte and finally made their full-length debut with “Stories”.
Compared with the previous releases, this record shows a remarkable maturity and artistic growth; the compositions, structured with various rhythm changes but perfectly balanced, reach here a higher level than the past, where the drums and bass lines intertwine with guitar and keyboard textures, providing adequate support for the lead flute melodic line. “Stories” is therefore a variegated progressive rock album, that combines melody and classical music through jazz, rock and funk, and ends in glory with the cover of “House of the King”, a heartfelt tribute to Focus, one of the main sources of inspiration of the Japanese band.
In short, a wonderful full instrumental album for the lovers of classic prog-rock, filled with fantastic flute work!
Tracklist:
1.Prologue
2.Puppets
3.Blanketed in Morning Fog
4.The Maze
5.My Story
6.The Encounter Suite
7.Astral Wind
8.Turquoise Wind
9.Muzaki
10.House of the King (Focus cover)
